Techstars and Twilio Announce "Two for One" Contest

Techstars has teamed up with Twilio to launch the “Two for One” contest, starting today (January 3, 2011). To enter, just create an awesome application that uses the Twilio API along with at least one API or product from any Techstars company. Techstars CEO David Cohen will be judging the contest, along with Techstars mentors Brad Feld and Dave McClure.

First prize is an Amazon Kindle 3G and one all expense paid trip to Boston to meet with Katie Rae (Managing Director, Techstars Boston), Reed Sturtevant (Project11 Ventures), Jeff Bussgang (Flybridge Capital Partners) and Bijan Sabet of Spark Capital. Additionally, the winner will receive $100 in Twilio credit and copies of Do More Faster.

Here are a few of the Techstars companies that have interesting APIs that you can combine with Twilio to make some magic happen. While you can use any Techstars company in your integration, many will want to check out the following API links for SendGrid (email deliverability), StatsMix (metrics tracking), Next Big Sound (music analytics), Brightkite (location social network), Intense Debate (WordPress comments), Vanilla (forums), Localytics (mobile analytics), SnapEngage (customer service), Omniar (augmented reality), Orbotix (robotic ball) Rezora (real estate). There are many more.

In order to win, you’ll need to get creative. We’ll be judging on the following criteria.

Functionality – Is the solution functionally complete? (does it work?)

Creativity – Is your app original? Does it solve an existing problem in a unique and elegant way?

Usefulness – Will people use your app every day or frequently?

Viability – How many people need what you’ve built? Could it become a business?

Design – Is your app usable? Bonus points if it looks good!

To qualify, you must integrate with both Twilio and at least one Techstars company product. Submit your entry here. The deadline is January 16th, so you’ll have to move fast. Get building – the clock is ticking!

Disclosure: Dave McClure and David Cohen are both investors in Twilio.

David Cohen(@davidcohen) Co-founder & Co-CEO of Techstars, previously founder of several technology companies. David is an active startup advocate, advisor, board member, and technology advisor who comments on these topics on his blog at DavidGCohen.com